EasyRead Watch

I was flipping through a Human Factors book today. Work was a little slow, so I figure I'd brush up on my wrist-mechanics seeing as handheld products are a big part of our business. The part that caught my attention was the section that went into details about what angles are appropriate for repetitive tasks. This got me thinking about what repetitive tasks do we aside from the much talked about typing, mouse clicking etc.? I am sure you can think of a million, but the one that hits home with me is looking at my watch.

I love my watch. A few times a year I will leave the house in a rush and forget my watch. These days are when I notice my obsessive time-checking habits the most. When I'm wearing a watch, every time I look at it my mind works something like this…

I wonder what time it is, I guess I'll look at my watch. (Rotates wrist)

Ah, 1:34. (Turns wrist away)

This is a pretty mundane, forgettable experience. Now compare to the days when I forget my watch.

I wonder what time it is, I guess I'll look at my watch. (Rotates wrist)

AHHHHHHHHHH! WHERE IS MY WATCH?!

Oh yeah, it's at home.

As you can see that is a much more memorable experience. One of the days that I left my watch at home I counted my mini-freak outs. Over the 12 hours I was away from home, I checked my watch 60ish (tough to keep count all day) times.

Now, I am not sure if 60 times a day is enough to put the "R" in RSI (Repetitive Stress Injury), but for the sake of my idea, I am going to assume it is …

I am not sure how this would be built, but I imagine a watch that displays the time to the user regardless of the position of the user's wrist. I have thought about filling it 90% with fluid, and using the resultant air pocket (which would always stay on top of the water, regardless of orientation) to contain some sort of e-ink display, but that doesn't seem too robust. Anyway, I'll kick the thought around a little bit, and if I come up with anything, it will be up here.

-Christopher Paul